Tag: #romantasy

Samantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding Planner by Aleese Lin

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Debut Novel, First Person Narrative, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Tracy's Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

Samantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding PlannerSamantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding Planner by Aleese Lin

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Samantha “Sabby” Spük is an accountant who has spent years trying to distance herself from her family’s supernatural roots, but after her grandmother’s death, a magically binding will pulls her back to Salem and keeps her there until the estate is settled. As she adjusts to her unwanted return, she becomes an accidental wedding planner for the town’s paranormal community, juggling vampire brides, fae clients, a disembodied head, a pixie assistant, and a complicated connection with Hanry. The story follows Sabby as she moves through a mix of cozy fantasy, light mystery, and romance while confronting her family legacy and deciding whether the ordinary life she imagined is really the one she wants.

For me, this had a fun premise and some charming side characters, but the execution never fully matched the idea. Sabby often felt emotionally distant, and the romance was not strong enough to carry the story when the plot started to wander. I think my biggest issue was the clunky first-person narrative, which made the humor and character voice feel more forced than natural and kept me from getting completely immersed in the story. There are flashes of quirky appeal here, especially in the paranormal wedding setup, but overall, this landed at about 2.5 stars for me.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

 

Death Meets Cute by J. Penner

On By TracyIn Book Publicity, Paranormal / Fantasy, Rom Com, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

Death Meets Cute by J. Penner

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 28. 2026

Iris Weyward is the middle sister in a family of witches. For years she has been working together with her sisters Dahlia and Poppy plotting to enhance their villainous natures and hopefully find a way to build an evil empire and take over the realms. But when their magic starts to fail and they begin to turn on each other, Iris has had enough and leaves them. She settles on the outskirts of Fraywell with her familiar, a hedgehog named Quince and starts an evil potion & hex business. Things were going OK, but recently her magic has been getting weaker and her bodyguard leaves and doesn’t return, and she is not sure what to do. But when everything changes when an injured orc bangs on her door and then dies in her backyard. Since she is in need of a bodyguard, she sees this as an opportunity for evil. She casts a spell that lets her interview the dead orc and when she decides that he would be perfect for the job, she casts another spell to “re-alive” him. But the re-alived orc is nothing like the dead orc and she is pretty sure she is going to have to re-unalive him, that is until her sisters show up and chaos ensues.

Talon Gefroy has only vague memories of his life before he woke up in Iris Weyward’s house. But he is immediately smitten with her and dives right into setting her house in order and baking. He accepts his new position and when her sisters show up, he is happy to take care of all of them and help them find a way to regain their powers. He settles in and feels like he is finally happy with life and thinks he might have a future with Iris, but then he learns the truth of how he ended up in her house and he is heartbroken. Can he reconcile the truth of who he is and what he has done with the orc he is now and can he forgive Iris for keeping the truth from him?

OMG! I loved this book, Iris and Talon were so cute together and Iris’s reactions to her feelings had me laughing out loud. This book was a quick, easy read with likable characters, a lot of emotion, wonderful secondary characters, a journey of self-awareness, acceptance, reconnecting with family and finally finding love and happiness. The story is promoted as a romantasy, but it is definitely geared more towards a young adult reader, as there is no intimacy beyond chaste kissing. So, if you are looking for a fun read with amazing characters, laugh out loud dialogue and a low heat romance – look no further – this is that book! I highly recommend this story, and I am hoping that there will be more stories featuring her sisters in the future.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *